The obstinate memory in Australian films

Abstract

For the purpose of this paper memory will be considered to have two political connotations, the first, is in terms of individual memory and how it can challenge the norms of the day. The second is a sense of social memory where the collective memory of a society is shaped by generational myths and ideology. As the political debates over the “stolen generation” reveals, individual memory has a profound ability to challenge the collective memory of Australian society. This paper will explore the interrelationship between these two concepts of memory. The first part of the paper will set out the broad terms of the debate on the politics of memory, whereas the second section will examine how memory plays a critical component in the current New Wave of Australian films. This new wave is notable for both the emergence of Aboriginal filmmakers but of the intense interest in films dealing with Aboriginal subjects and their history. The reason offered for this interest is that films touch the psyche of a nation and as such the deep disturbing implications of the Stolen Generation have become central to the ways in which artists speak to a nation.